Interview: Massa ready for final showdown

Last year, the Brazilian arrived at the Italian Grand Prix fresh from his maiden Grand Prix win. Since then, he amassed four more victories - three of them this season.

And, more crucially, Massa is one of four drivers closely battling for the drivers' championship, holding a one-point lead over his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

With only five rounds left in the season, and with McLaren looking strong at the Monza test, autosport.com caught up with Massa on Friday for his thoughts on Ferrari's and his own preparations for the final showdown.

Q: How did the four-day test at Monza go?

Felipe Massa: "Four days?! Well, not quite, as there was so much rain! But, considering that, we had a very productive day on Friday.

"I tried all afternoon the tyres and aero level, and it was much better than Thursday, because after the race we couldn't achieve much."

Q: What is your assessment of McLaren after this test?

Massa: "They are strong here, but we have done some interesting work, so we will be quite strong here too."

Q: How do you feel coming to Monza as the leading Ferrari driver?

Massa: "By one point, though! This championship is pretty competitive - four drivers are fighting for the title, so I have to make sure I can be more competitive than the others; try to do the maximum and stay competitive until the end of the season. And I am in a good position."

Q: The last victory must have helped

Massa: "Getting a good result is very important - not only for the team, but also for a my confidence that I have done the right work, the maximum work."

Q: We saw you using in testing a new light system in the pits. What was it?

Massa: "We are testing this new system to put the light in the pitstop, to see how quick the time is. We're only testing it, we're not 100 per cent clear if we'll use it in the future."

Q: Tell us more about the work you have done in testing

Massa: "The car is very consistent. I tried various aerodynamic solutions, but it is difficult to see where we are compared to McLaren.

"We will have to see in the race weekend, as they are very quick too. At the end, it is difficult to see the level of fuel they are carrying, and we will only find out next week.

But, we do know that the best time of McLaren is the last lap of a long run. I have done it on earlier laps, when heavier. So it's interesting to find out how it will be in a week.

Q: How are the Bridgestone tyres doing here? And the brakes?

Massa: "Both are good and consistent. We will decide next week which compound to use. And there are no problems with the brakes."

Q: What did you think of the modifications in the second chicane?

Massa: "I think it is good, better. I 'tried' it twice, and it was easy to carry on. So if you have problems there, it is less penalising to go straight through."

Q: With such a competitive season so far, are you more nervous this year compared to last year when you came to Monza?

Massa: "I think last year for sure there was less pressure on me than this year, but I was still fighting for the championship for the team - not as a driver - so I was pushing a lot to help the team.

"This year we are fighting the drivers' and the teams' championships so for sure there is a lot more pressure. But it doesn't matter; with or without pressure I won races anyway.

"In the end, you just need to do the best you can. The final result counts; the pressure, you always have anyway."